Cerebral Palsy: Introduction

Cerebral palsy is usually used to refer to birth injuries to the brain
that affect physical motor ability without damaging intellect.
However, it can broadly describe any brain disability leading to movement problems,
does not necessarily have to occur at birth,
and some types of cerebral palsy do suffer some level of intellectual damage. ...more »

Misdiagnosis and Cerebral Palsy

Undiagnosed stroke leads to misdiagnosed aphasia: BBC News UK reported on a man who
had been institutionalized and treated for mental illness
because he...read more »

Dementia may be a drug interaction: A common scenario in aged care is for
a patient to show mental decline to dementia.
Whereas this can, of course, occur due to various medical conditions,
such as a stroke or Alzheimer...read more »

Mild traumatic brain injury often remains undiagnosed: Although the symptoms
of severe brain injury are hard to miss,
it is less clear for milder injuries, or even those...read more »

MTBI misdiagnosed as balance problem: When a person has symptoms
such as vertigo or dizziness, a diagnosis of brain injury may go overlooked.
This is...read more »

Brain pressure condition often misdiagnosed as dementia: A condition
that results from an excessive pressure of CSF within the brain is often misdiagnosed.
It may be misdiagnosed as Parkinson's disease or dementia (such as ...read more »

Post-concussive brain injury often misdiagnosed: A study found that soldiers who had
suffered a concussive injury in battle often were misdiagnosed on their return.
A...read more »

Children with migraine often misdiagnosed: A migraine often fails to be
correctly diagnosed in pediatric patients.
These patients are not the typical...read more »

Article Excerpts about Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral
palsy is an umbrella-like term used to describe a group of chronic
disorders impairing control of movement that appear that appear in the
first few years of life and generally do not worsen over time. The
disorders are caused by faulty development of or damage to motor areas in
the brain that disrupts the brain's ability to control movement and
posture.
(Source: excerpt from NINDS Cerebral Palsy Information Page: NINDS)

Definitions of Cerebral Palsy:

A heterogeneous group of nonprogressive motor disorders caused by chronic brain injuries that originate in the prenatal period, perinatal period, or first few years of life. The four major subtypes are spastic, athetoid, ataxic, and mixed cerebral palsy, with spastic forms being the most common. The motor disorder may range from difficulties with fine motor control to severe spasticity (see MUSCLE SPASTICITY) in all limbs. Spastic diplegia (Little disease) is the most common subtype, and is characterized by spasticity that is more prominent in the legs than in the arms. Pathologically, this condition may be associated with LEUKOMALACIA, PERIVENTRICULAR. (From Dev Med Child Neurol 1998 Aug;40(8):520-7)
- (Source - Diseases Database)

A loss or deficiency of motor control with involuntary spasms caused by permanent brain damage present at birth
- (Source - WordNet 2.1)

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